Magbabangus
signed and dated 1978 (lower left)
oil on wood panel
24" x 24" (61 cm x 61 cm)

León Gallery wishes to thank Mr. Marcel Antonio for confirming the authenticity of this lot




Norma Belleza’s 1978 Magbabangus comes two years after the artist’s triumphant return to art following a decade-long hiatus. Her first solo exhibition was at the Philippine Art Gallery in 1963 before she stopped painting for ten years, only breaking her silence with her 1976 Metro Gallery show.Born in San Fernando, Pampanga with the Pampanga River snaking only a few towns away, Belleza’s provincial background features heavily in her works. Her oeuvre teems with women, vendors, and workers in bright, cheery colors.The river itself is the second-largest river in Luzon and as it narrows down into the lower section of the basin (where the Pampanga delta lies), fishponds populate the area which are often a source of livelihood for the locals.Belleza’s works are often intricate and vibrant, her canvases full of imagery relating to the common folk. But Magbabangus offers a close-up view of the titular vendor, melting away any type of commentaries to provide a sole portrayal of the Filipino masses who endlessly toil for their survival. Depicting a vendor with a basin full of milkfish on their head, her signature folk genre art style elevates and recontextualizes the scene, making her work indelibly Filipino. In this, Belleza puts under the spotlight the common vendors whom we so often interact with but give little thought to, reminding us of their importance and shedding light on the ongoing struggle for genuine equality for every single Filipino despite their social standing. (Hannah Valiente)